Wiktionary

knaw

English edit

Etymology 1 edit

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Verb edit

knaw (third-person singular simple present knaws, present participle knawing, simple past and past participle knawed)

  1. Archaic spelling of gnaw.

Etymology 2 edit

Verb edit

knaw (third-person singular simple present knaws, present participle knawing, simple past knawed, past participle knawn)

  1. Nonstandard form of know.

Anagrams edit

Middle English edit

Noun edit

knaw

  1. Alternative form of knave

Middle Welsh edit

Etymology edit

Probably borrowed from Old Irish cnáim (“bone”),[1] but at any rate ultimately from Proto-Celtic *knāmis, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”). Cognate with Ancient Greek κνήμη (knḗmē, “tibia”) and English ham.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

knaw m (plural kneu or knouein)

  1. bone
  2. skull

Descendants edit

  • ⇒ Welsh: pencnaw (“end of a bone”)

Mutation edit

Middle Welsh mutation
Radical Soft Nasal Aspirate
knaw gnaw knaw / chnaw
pronounced with /ŋ̊-/		 chnaw
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References edit

  1. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 211

Further reading edit

  • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “cnaw”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
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